Can technology change human nature? Marcin Sergiusz Przybyłek, the sci-fi author and creator of the dystopian universe you can admire in Gamedec RPG, has a very strong opinion on this. Read an article that he wrote for us from an… unconventional perspective.The end of the 22nd century is a strange time. People live in cities - cages, separated from the aggressive ecosystem by ABB barriers. The emigration to Gaia continues. Hundreds of thousands of sensory worlds allow you to choose another reality, live in it, and even work. Zoenets practically do not leave the network.
Has human nature changed? We just came out of the caves and finished off six other species of Homo sapiens. No, we haven't changed. We still steal, lie, manipulate, kill. Only the circumstances, the tools, the backgrounds have changed. Human nature has remained the same.
I'm a gamedec. I know what you're thinking: weird profession. Not serious. I'd withhold judgment if I were you. I'll tell you a few words about what I'm dealing with, and then I'll ask you if you still judge me that way, okay?
You know that when you go online, your body gets devitalized, right? You lie like a log on a virtual bed. You can't move. You can't hear what's going on in your apartment. You only feel and see what the game offers. The game is in your brain, not in Realium. You are the perfect example of a victim. What could be more vulnerable than a man who lies up to four days as if paralyzed, unaware of his real surroundings?
Yes, you've locked your doors with digital and mechanical locks, but will that defend you from a break-in? Any lock can be hacked, and any lock can be broken. All it takes is for someone to know that you're a player, that you're currently riding a dragon in the Way of the Dragon, proudly raising your sword. All they need is your actual address. That's possible with the illegal but effective Investigator app.
If it turns out not that you live on the other side of the globe, but that you reside in the same polis as him, he will visit you in your place and...
The possibilities are endless.
He can kill you the traditional way, he can hack your helmet and burn your brains out, he can rob you of both real and digital goods, he can drag a corpse into your apartment and frame you for murder, he can have an orgy in your apartment, or he can plug a chip into your computer. When you get out of bed and log on to your bank to buy your next shipment of gamepills, he'll access your account and regularly debit you either in small amounts or one specific amount.
When you play, you use a helmet, a suit, a bed, and a computer. Each of these objects can be illegally modified, tweaked, turned into a death trap. Of course, this requires expert knowledge, but humans have always been exceptionally inventive in ways to inflict suffering. The modified action of the suit can chill your body. Sounds innocent? Pneumonia after spending three days in cold temperatures without moving sounds good? With our highly virulent bacteria? A suit can overheat you and produce perhaps even worse consequences. A hacked helmet can cause you to start tripping over your own feet in realium, to cripple you. A broken bed will lead to bedsores, and a computer that someone hacked into can cause all of these things at once.
As you play, you're using a gamepad that modifies your metabolism, and you're also plugging infusion fluid into your nanosocket, aren't you? Think about it, what harm would you do to yourself if you ingested something illegal and injected into your veins something that looks like IV fluid but is a hallucinogen, a substance that causes panic anxiety? Would you want to get out of bed as a person with developed psychosis?
Did I scare you? My friend, I'm just warming up. I've only talked about the basics: the hardware and the chemistry of gaming. A million games are waiting online, hundreds of millions of players, guilds, companies, and each has its own goals, its own causes, its own agendas, each fighting in the eternal dance of survival.
Games are hacked in dozens of ways. Cheats can prevent you from logging out. They can lock you into an endless loop of events, and they can break sensory gates and make every sword swipe in an innocent clan game feel like someone stabbed you. Cheats can cause you to lose a race that could have made you a fortune, digital cheats can disrupt your perception during a noted esports game, and it could determine your career.
Companies make games. As a rule, these companies compete with each other. Sometimes they sabotage each other's creations, making players feel bad about playing the X or Y game without knowing why. Is it hard to do that? Did you know that we have good and bad mood centers in our brain? How do you think a virtual helmet can stimulate them? Start thinking.
Not to mention the Thomas vibe, which triggers the player to believe that God himself is watching. Do you think I've told the whole story? Not at all. I just licked the surface. But such is when everything has to be "short," or the interlocutor will fall asleep.
So, let me come back to the original question: do you still think gamedec is an unnecessary profession?
Don’t hesitate – dive into the fascinating world crafted by Marcin Sergiusz Przybyłek with the help of talented visual artists and game developers.
Gamedec is an RPG where nothing is what it seems and your every decision counts! Also, be sure to check out the list of inspiring games, chosen by the author himself. 